Taylor Fritz beats Daniil Medvedev as the Russian’s clay-court woes continue
The Hotshot booked his place in the Final Four after finishing second in Group A
Taylor Fritz in action at UTS4
UTS4 GROUP A
FRITZ BEATS MEDVEDEV – 14-19, 15-14, 14-13, 19-9
- What happened: “The Hotshot” Taylor Fritz defeats “The ChessMasters” Daniil Medvedev in four quarters on Tuesday
- You will also learn: Medevdev’s clay-court woes continued as the Russian admitted to not liking the surface
- Why you should read this article: Fritz is through to the semi-final at UTS4 which will take place later today
American Taylor Fritz needed four quarters to defeat world No 2 Daniil Medvedev at the UTS4 on Tuesday and advance to the semi-finals of the event taking place at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in the south of France.
In the final standings in Group A, Fritz finished in second position to book his place in the semi-final, just behind Corentin Moutet, who won all of his three matches in the Group. Medvedev finished in third place, with one victory from three matches, while Fabio Fognini, who lost all of his three matches, ended at the fourth position.
The San Diego native will face the winner of the match between Diego Schwartzman and Christian Garin, which is the last Group match at UTS 4 while the semi-finals will take place later on Tuesday as well.
Fritz recovers from loss of first quarter
Medvedev, whose clay-court struggles have been self-admitted and well-documented, got off to the better start winning the first quarter 19-14. The Russian also managed his UTS cards better, winning his two points on “Next Points Double Count” during this quarter.
Fritz fought back to win the next two quarters in a close battle 15-14, and 14-13.
During one of his on-court interviews in-between quarters, Medvedev reiterated his dislike for the red dirt, and even responded that he might consider skipping the clay -court season next year in his frustration.
The Russian appeared to lose his focus in the fourth quarter and went down 9-19 to give Fritz the win three-quarters to one.
Despite the loss, Medvedev did come up with one of the highlight shots of the week, with an incredible backhand that went around the net.
Medvedev will be hooping to find some of his winning edge on clay next week as Roland-Garros begins. The Russian has never won a match at the Paris Grand Slam.
